Uniswap Labs, a leading decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, recently conducted a survey to understand the motivations and obstacles of retail users based in the United States towards DeFi. The survey received 1,860 responses, including non-crypto, centralized finance (CeFi), and DeFi users.
The survey revealed that despite the bear market background, almost half of the CeFi users expressed interest in experimenting with DeFi protocols over the next 12 months. This result is encouraging as it indicates a growing interest of traditional finance users in DeFi who are willing to learn and explore the opportunities of on-chain activities.
However, the survey also showed that complexity, lack of understanding, and costs are the main obstacles that prevent CeFi users from using DeFi platforms for all their cryptocurrency transactions. This result underlines the importance of providing educational materials, an improved user experience, and support to overcome the learning curve associated with DeFi. So, how is Uniswap Labs simplifying DeFi for CeFi users?
Uniswap Labs has a user-friendly interface that allows users to navigate the platform easily and execute trades with a few clicks. The platform also uses an automated market making system that makes order books unnecessary and allows users to exchange tokens at a fair market price, simplifying the trading process for users who may not understand complex trading concepts. Additionally, Uniswap Labs places great emphasis on self-custody, which means that users have complete control over their assets and do not have to rely on centralized custody. Although this may seem discouraging at first, Uniswap Labs offers educational resources and support to help users understand the benefits of self-custody.
With this, Uniswap Labs aims to bridge the gap between CeFi and DeFi by focusing on user experience and considering the first steps as a gateway to the broader crypto ecosystem. Uniswap Labs aims to offer CeFi users a more transparent, self-custodial, and publicly auditable alternative to centralized finance platforms that often lack accountability and transparency.
As significant entry barriers, transaction fees and costs were also identified. However, as Ethereum continues to scale and Layer-2 solutions gain more acceptance, DeFi will become more economically accessible and user-friendly for cost-conscious users, Uniswap’s blog post stated.
The survey also identified that better educational resources and stronger user support would increase the willingness of CeFi users to trade on DeFi platforms. Products aimed at this CeFi segment have already invested in these educational resources. Uniswap Labs has assembled one of the few customer support teams in the crypto industry, which is considered one of the best in the industry.
In summary, the Uniswap Labs survey sheds light on the motivations and barriers of retail users in the United States towards DeFi. The platform’s goal is to simplify and abstract the complexities associated with cryptocurrencies without compromising the ideals of self-custody and transparency. As the industry continues to grow, it is essential to prioritize user education and support to help users build their knowledge base and confidence.
Featured image by iStock, chart from TradingView.com
